In a case highlighting the extensive requirements to succeed under a Rule 32 petition, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals recently presided over an appeal arising from Madison County. This case, Joseph Michael Wilson v. State of Alabama, illustrates the high evidentiary bar that criminal defendants must meet when alleging prejudice arising from ineffective assistance of counsel, demonstrating the high level of deference courts give to attorneys when determining trial strategy.

In September of 1996, Joseph Michael Wilson and his associates visited Ashley Rutherford’s home to purchase marijuana. The interaction turned violent, and another man present at Rutherford’s residence discovered his cell phone was missing. He ultimately found out that the phone was in Wilson’s possession and filed a complaint with the sheriff. Several days later, Wilson returned with his associates to Rutherford’s residence and confronted the men present about the complaint. Again, the situation escalated, with Wilson’s associates initiating an assault against the other men. Upon Rutherford’s return home, he was also assaulted by Wilson himself, along with the help of his associates. The situation escalated to the point of gunfire, with Wilson firing 19 shots before fleeing the scene. Wilson was apprehended along with one of his associates shortly after the incident, with police recovering weapons and evidence from the vehicle.

At Wilson’s trial in January of 1997, Wilson was convicted of two counts of capital murder, as well as two counts of attempted murder. Wilson was sentenced to death, and additionally received consecutive 20-year sentences for the attempted murder charges. Despite Wilson’s efforts to challenge his conviction, higher courts upheld his sentence, leading to this appeal.

Wilson’s appeal centered around a Rule 32 petition, which he filed in December of 2001. In the petition, Wilson alleged ineffective assistance of counsel, State errors, and trial court mistakes. The circuit court initially dismissed Wilson’s petition, but the higher court allowed Wilson to amend the petition. On appeal, Wilson argued that the circuit court had wrongly rejected his claims of various State errors, including violations of State obligations under Brady v. Maryland, comments about Wilson’s silence following his Miranda warnings, and prosecutorial misconduct throughout Wilson’s trial.

To succeed on his claim for ineffective assistance of counsel, Wilson was required to show that counsel performed below the acceptable standards, meeting the criteria outlined in Strickland v. Washington, resulting in prejudice. When reviewing these claims, the Court owes significant deference to the counsel’s strategy. Given these constraints, Wilson needed to identify specific shortcomings in his counsel’s performance, supported by an adequate factual basis.

In an attempt to meet this bar, Wilson made several specific allegations against his counsel. First, Wilson argued that his counsel had inadequately supported a motion for a change of venue, which prejudiced his case. Additionally, Wilson claimed his counsel had failed to adequately challenge biased venire members, failed to object to prejudicial photographs, and had failed to object to gender discrimination during jury selection. Wilson also alleged errors with jury instructions and had failed to advocate for youthful offender status for Wilson. Ultimately, Wilson contended that these errors combined to render counsel ineffective, leading to his conviction and death sentence.

Despite Wilson’s specific allegations of deficiencies in his counsel’s performance, the circuit court found that he had failed to demonstrate prejudice or a likelihood that difference action by counsel would have resulted in a different trial outcome. The Court considered the previous finding that Wilson’s claims lacked merit and dismissed his claims on both procedural and substantive grounds. The Court found that Wilson’s claims were insufficiently substantiated by evidence, and therefore the dismissal of his petition was upheld.

The case of Joseph Michael Wilson v. State of Alabama serves as an example of the importance of sufficiently proving both elements of the Strickland v. Washington test. Although Wilson made specific allegations as to the ineffectiveness of his counsel, the Strickland test also requires a showing of the prejudicial impact of any errors. A Rule 32 petition must be supported by evidence of prejudice to prevail.

If you have a Federal Criminal case, a State Criminal case, a Municipal Case or a Family Law case, contact Joe Ingram or Joe Ingram Law, LLC at 205-335-2640. Get Relief Get Results.